


Grief

by Superherogeek1



Series: Destined by Force, Dad by Choice [2]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Needs a Hug, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Whump, Good Parent Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Hurt Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Psychic Bond, Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Witchers Have Feelings (The Witcher), Worried Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24537007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superherogeek1/pseuds/Superherogeek1
Summary: Geralt, Calanthe, and Eist mourn Pavetta's and Duny's death. Geralt Jaskier and Cirilla take a road trip to give Calanthe and Eist a break.Ciri: age 3
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Destined by Force, Dad by Choice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773352
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Grief

Over the years, Geralt and Jaskier came and went from Cintra. A couple months after Ciri's 3rd birthday Pavetta and Duny were lost at sea. When he had gotten the call, he had been talking to a lord about a contract while simultaneously trying to figure out Ciri's confusion and worry that filtered through the bond.

The lord in question was describing the monster when a vibration sound rang out.

"I apologize, excuse me." Geralt said softly before pulling out the mirror. He was greeted with red eyed Eist and the sound of crying.

"Eist? What's the matter?" geralt asks worriedly.

"Prevetta and Duny have been lost at sea. You need to come home. Calanthe can't take care of Ciri and grieve properly at the same time." Eist said tearfully. Geralt swallows heavily and nods. He could hear Ciri start crying at the grief he knew was filtering over to her and grimaced.

"Can you have Mousesack open a portal?" Geralt croaks. Eist nods and ends the call. Jaskier takes initiative and runs out to get the horses. Geralt inhales deeply and looks at the confused lord.

"Walk with me please." He says quietly. As they walk, Geralt is silent until he figures out what to say.

"I'm sorry, good lord but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your contract. As much as I want to help, that call was my family and my adopted Sister and Brother just died. I need to get back to take care of my daughter. I'm sure one of my brothers will be by soon." He said quietly as a portal suddenly opened. He sensed Ciri's desperation and couldn't bring himself to scold her when she ran through the portal and into his arms.

The lord watched quietly as the white wolf went from terrifying and cold to soft and loving as he picked up the girl and rocked her soothingly.

"Daddy!? Why sad!?" She asked as she twirls her fingers into his hair.

"I'm not sad, Pup, not now that you're back in my arms." Geralt said quietly before pressing a kiss to her cheek. Geralt then looks at the lord who smiles softly and nods toward the portal. So, with a nod of thanks, he walked through the portal and was greeted by Eist and Mousesack on the other side.

"Where's Ma?" He asked curiously. Eist motion's for him to follow which he does and allows Ciri to ramble the whole way.

He opens the door to Calanthe's bedroom and hands Ciri off to Jaskier who smiles and gives Geralt a small comforting kiss before allowing Ciri to drag him away to the library. Calanthe was laying in bed, near catatonic and it was obvious Eist didn't know what to do. Geralt looks to Eist who nods to her and leaves.

"Mom?" He whispers as he quickly makes his way to him. When she doesn't respond he sighs and pulls his armour, swords and boots off the climbs into the bed behind her. He then gently maneuvers her so she is cradled against his chest. He makes himself purr and he could feel her relax against him. His purr was a weakness to this family because even when they weren't fully there, they could tell it is him. After all he's the only witcher that can purr and humans definitely can't purr. She fell asleep easily but he stayed beside her as silent tears dripped down his cheeks rapidly. He didn't make any noise except for the sound of the shuddering of his breath.

A couple hours later, after convincing Ciri that Geralt was alright and the reason he was sad was because he had missed her and then putting her down for a nap, Eist and Jaskier found Geralt and Calanthe curled up together and asleep. Geralt's face was still wet and tears continued to drop even in his sleep but Calanthe had her face pressed to his chest, in probably the deepest sleep she's had since Pavetta's death was discovered. Geralt's low purrr resonated through the room.

Jaskier sighed and looked at them before pulling Eist out of the room.

"Let them sleep. They both need it." Jaskier said quietly.

Hours later, calanthe awoke to find she was breathing a familiar scent and was curled up to a warm rock hard body. Wisps of white hair and multiple scars could be seen as her oldest son slept quietly. Without shifting too much, she looks up to see Geralt's face. He had a new scar that ran over his eye and to her sadness he was tense and alert, even in his sleep, ready to attack at a moment's notice. She knows that the world has broken her boy in ways that can not be fixed but looking at him now, she vows to do her best to help him feel at home and loved. 

Watching him twitch and mutter, she realizes that he was having a nightmare. So she gently shifts and pulls his head to her chest so he can hear her heartbeat and runs her fingers through his hair. Ciri comes barging in with Jaskier and Eist following behind her. However, Jaskier immediately stops Eist from going further into the room.

"No, if you approach him, he'll lash out. He's not really Geralt right now, he's a scared wolf right now and you are an intimidating alpha to him right now. Calanthe is his mothe an, I'm his mate. He knows our scent and our touch. Ciri is his pup, he knows her scent and feels their bond. He won't hurt her. Let us handle him, if he swings at you, he could kill you without realizing it." Jaskier said urgently before turning to Ciri who had already gotten up on the bed and pressed herself to him and whimpering softly. Then to their surprise, Geralt, who was still in his nightmare and was whining fearfully, moved and suddenly had Ciri under breath him and was snarling at anyone who was near him

It was an obvious protective act as he basically turned his body so he was a living shield for his pup.

Eist and Calathes watch as Ciri wraps her arms around his neck and tries to pull him down and pushes her head under Geralt's throat. Geralt relaxes slowly and leans down to rest his forehead against her. 

"Thank you, Pup. I'm awake now." He mutters before sitting up as Jaskier shuffles closer and presses up against his back and lays kisses to Geralt's neck. This allows Ciri to shift to sit up and stand on the bed so they're face to face. 

"Daddy! Guess what!?? I got a new doll! I'll go get her! He can help make you feel better!" Ciri gushed before she jumped down and ran out of the room.

" _Wolf, how about you and I take Ciri for a few weeks, let Eist and Calanthe be together without worry for a little while. We can go travel to a few surrounding towns, stay a couple days in each town?"_ Jaskier says in elder speak. Geralt looks at him before looking at Calanthe who was looking at them in confusion and shrugs.

" _That's a good idea. No harm in asking."_ Geralt replied before turning to calanthe.

"Ma? Jaskier had a good idea. How about we take Ciri off your hands for a week. We can go travel the kingdom, stay a night or two in each town. That'll give you some free time to grieve probably without having to worry about caring for Ciri. Ciri doesn't understand what happened, I can sense her confusion and worry. I'll try to explain to her what happened but she's too little to fully comprehend it." Geralt said quietly. Calanthe looks at Geralt and nods quietly.

"That'll be good for her. I want her guard to go with though." Calanthe answered, making Geralt nod and kiss her forehead.

"I'll go get her ready. Jaskier, can you go get Roach and Daisy and then get provisions for the journey? I'll send Sir Lazlo to help you. Ma, Eist, I'll bring her here to say goodbye before we leave." Geralt said before getting up and grabbing his things and walking out the door to Ciri's room. He knocks gently and opens the door to see her playing with a doll on the bed. She looks up and grins as he walks in and sits on the bed by the headboard.

"Is this your new doll?" He asked as he picked up the doll and smiled tearfully. It was a doll that looked like him. She nods and crawls into his lap and lays her head on his shoulder, snuggling close and wraps her arms around his neck and plays with his hair quietly. 

"Ciri, so Papa Jaskier had a good idea to go on a special trip to the small towns and villages around the castle. What do you think? Just Papa Jaskier, you, I and Lazlo on a week-long trip?" He asked curiously as he brushed his fingers through her hair. Ciri gasped in excitement and sat up and looked at him with a big smile and nods excitedly.

"Ya daddy! Is mother and father coming with?" Ciri asked curiously and Geralt sighs and adjusts her so he can look at her.

"Pup, we need to talk about that. Do you remember about a year ago your puppy got hurt really badly and I explained to you how he went to the stars so he can watch over us?" Geralt asked quietly, Ciri thinks for a moment before looking up at Geralt.

"Are mother and father in the stars? Is that why they haven't come home?" Ciri asked quietly.

"Ya, sweetie. They are but you need to remember that just because we can't see them, doesn't mean they're not here. Every burst of wind that rushes passed you, that's your mother kissing your face and your father ruffling your hair. Every clap of thunder is your father telling you to get inside, that it's not safe outside. Every raindrop is your mother's tears of happiness because she's so proud of you. Every ray of sunshine is a promise that everything is alright and your parents telling you they love you." Geralt said quietly. Ciri was silent and he could sense she was thinking about it before looking up at Geralt.

"The stars aren't out during the day. If I wave at the sky during the day, will they see me?" She asked.

"Of course. They will watch over us until the day comes that we join them in the stars." Geralt said with a small smile. Ciri smiles up at him and hugs him tightly around the neck.

"I love you daddy." She mutters against his neck.

"I love you too, pup. Now, how about we start getting ready for our trip?" He said as he hugs her back then sets her on the ground.

"Pick out three toys, your favorite blanket and 2 books." He said, making her giggle and start running around the room.

He packs a few less nice outfits into a bag as well as everything else she might need while she runs around and picks out toys.

A half hour later, Geralt brought her to calanthe's room to tell her goodbye and with a few soft spoken words and lots of hugs and kisses and goodbyes, Geralt carried ciri and their bags our to where Jaskier and Lazlo was waiting with the horses. Geralt swung up onto Roach and put Ciri in the saddle in front of him and told her hold on and then nudged Roach into a light trot with Lazlo and Jaskier on their horses following behind him.

As they rode, Ciri squealed and watched in awe at the scenery as it went by. As the sun started to set, they made it to a small town and Geralt led them to the tavern. He took Ciri and let Jaskier lead Roach and the other horses to the stables while Geralt and Lazlo went inside to order dinner.

The patrons of the LittleOx Tavern watched in shock as a witcher, the famed white wolf, walked in with a little white haired toddler on his hip and a royal knight at his side. He sat down at a table with the girl in his lap and handed her a doll from a bag he had before looking at the menu above the bar.

"What do you want to eat, pup? You want some meat and cheese? Maybe some soup?" He asked softly as he absent mindedly ran his fingers through her hair. She looks up from the doll and looks at him in consideration before smiling.

"Cheese! With bread!" She said excitedly. The patrons watch as Geralt chuckles and kisses her forehead before waving the barmaid over.

"I'll have a bowl of soup. The pup will do cheese with some bread and a small bowl of fruit. And the bard will do a bowl of soup too." Geralt said warmly before looking at Lazlo who ordered a soup as well.

"With 3 ales please and water for our princess." Jaskier said as he came up behind the barmaid and sat across from Geralt. The barmaid nods with a smile and goes to get their order.

The patrons watch in awe as the big scary witcher brushes out the girl's hair with his hand and then ties it back with ease before grabbing another doll of a werewolf and starts to play with the girl with her doll. His voice even deepened and turned a little husky as he acted out a little scene with the girl. He pulls the doll to the girl with a fake growl and made it pretend to attack her, making her squeal and giggle as Jaskier took the doll she had discarded and made it act out fighting off the werewolf, saving the girl who was laughing and using her hands to hit the werewolf doll. Geralt smiled and made a wounded howl sound and dropped the doll face down on the table, obviously in a doll death. 

"And the princess saved the mighty witcher from the big scary werewolf but can he save her from the tickle monster in return." Geralt said before tickling the girl's side, making her giggle and squirm.

"No! daddy! No tickle monster!" She squealed and Geralt chuckled but did as she requested. She turned and leaned her head against his chest, panting softly with a smile on her face.

The food came out and they started eating quietly. Patrons came and went as they ate and chatted and planned their route. 

A while later Lazlo had gone to go get inn rooms while Geralt chatted with Jaskier about what the reunion was for when suddenly a huge, burley drunken man came wandering over with a smirk.

"That little girl is awful pretty, how much do you want for her? She'll make a fine toy." The man said, his speech slightly slurred. He obviously thought Geralt would heartlessly sell her but yet was proven wrong when Geralt rumbled angrily, inhumanely, with fangs bared, and eyes slit to slivers.

"Take her out of here, Jas." Geralt rumbled, handing Citi over to Jaskier who immediately takes her and runs out of the tavern. No one saw the witcher move but suddenly there was a thud and the man was on the ground, wailing at his broken nose as the seething witcher stood over him. Geralt picked the man up by his throat and held him against the wall before thrusting a dagger through the man's dick, resulting in a scream of agony. Geralt smirked and dropped the man who crumpled to the ground in tears.

"That's for calling my daughter-my Pup- a toy. You'reluckyI don't take your head right now." Geralt snarled before punching the man again and knocking him out.

Everyone heard Geralt snarl at the unconscious man but It was clear to everyone that as much as he wanted to kill the man, he was holding back. The white wolf was obviously beyond pissed and was very protective.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that but I wont tolerate a threat to my pup." Geralt said to the patrons after a few calming breaths but instead of a raging crowd, he got a few people clapping and a quiet applause.

"Thank you, white wolf. He's been trying to get our kids lately too but no one has been able to beat him in a fight. We owe you. Please! How can we repay you?" One man said thankfully.

"Stabling, food and board for our stay is enough." Geralt said, making the man nod and send someone over to the inn. Geralt was about to say his thanks before Cirilla's sudden terror made its way through the bond.

The villagers watch in confusion as the white wolf freezes obviously sensing something they couldn't before breaking into a sprint and running out the door.

Geralt runs outside to see Jaskier and Lazlo running around yelling for Cirilla.

"Cirilla!" He roared in fear and he spun in circles, trying to catch her scent. He felt a pull in his mind and immediately took off towards it yelling for Ciri as he went.

It was nighttime and Ava was cleaning up her healing hut when a little crying toddler ran in the open door and tugged on her dress.

"Can you help me find my daddy?" She whimpered. Ava cooed and knelt down beside the little girl and smiled softly.

"Of course sweetie. I'm Ava. What's your name?" She asked, helping the girl dry her tears.

"Ciri." The girl answered shyly.

"Nice to meet you Ciri. Where were you last?" She asked softly.

"We were eating. A mean man came up and daddy told Papa Jaskier to take me outside. I saw a bunny and I chased it and I got lost." She cried.

"Shh, it's alright. We'll find your daddy, don't worry." Ave said soothingly before taking the girls hand and started walking to the tavern. As she walked, she heard a male voice yelling before suddenly a man skids around a corner and looks around.

"Ciri! Pup! Where are you!?" He yelled frantically.

"Daddy!" The girl cried and let go of Ava's hand. The man spun around and stumbled to her and swooped her up into his arms.

"Cirilla. My beautiful pup. I'd thought I'd lost you." He croaks and rocks her side to side and presses a kiss to her temple. Ava stepped forward to talk to the man but suddenly yellow cat eyes looked up and met her's and widened in shock before suddenly he bared fangs at her and pulled the girl closer. Ava knew he was a witcher and stepped back a little. Cirilla leaned back and looked between Geralt and Ava before pressing her little hands to his mouth as if trying to close his mouth.

"No daddy! She helped me!" Ciri scolded, making the witcher calm and look over at her again. 

"Thank you. How can I ever repay you?" He rumbles.

"I only want her to be happy and safe. Take care of her, witcher. That's all I ask." Ava said with a smile. Geralt nods and looks over his shoulder.

"My mate is waiting for us. thank you again, lady-" he trailed off, not knowing her name.

"Ava Harrenhal." She answers.

"Thank you again, Lady Ava." He said before turning and jogging off.

2 weeks later Ava received a royal court summons. When she was escorted into the throne room, she saw the queen and King waiting for her. She stepped forward and curtsied lowly.

"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" She said quietly.

"Yes. It's come to my attention that you have -" She said but was cut off by a side door burst open and a familiar white haired toddler came running in. Ava gaped as Ciri squealed and dove under a table just as Geralt came stalking in. Geralt smiled and winked at her and nodded at Calanthe before walking over to the table on silent feet before swiftly reaching under the table and pulling Ciri out. Ciri screamed in delight and wiggled as he tossed her up and caught her before grabbing her ankles and holding Ciri upside down with one hand. He poked her sides and smiles softly as she squeals and squirms.

Ava grinned at the pair and looked over to the king and queen to see them both wearing expressions of amusement and fond exasperation.

"Geralt, can you not hold her like that, she's going to lose her lunch." Calanthe sighs.

"Oh come on, Ma. She's fine. I'd sense it if she wasn't." Geralt said but put Ciri on her feet anyway.

"Anyway, Miss Ava. On behalf of helping Witcher Prince Geralt and Princess Cirilla. We would like to offer you a position in the palace as The Royal Healer. All your needs and wants would be cared for. And you would have access to the best ingredients and tools there are. And your pay would be at least 3 times more that it is now. Do you accept?" Calanthe asked curiously. Ava looks at her in shock before looking at Geralt who smiled and nods.

"I accept. However, I truly was just doing the right thing." She said softly.

"Regardless. You deserve it." Eist answers.

"Thank you, your majesty. I look forward to it."

* * *

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